The Slumbering Servant.

It was the next day. Twilight, the rest of the mane six, and also Lyra were just about to enter the Everfree Forest. Right now they were in a field that hugged the forest's borders, bracing themselves for what ever awaited them. Twilight had informed them of what they were going into the forest for, but while she and Lyra were eager, the others were not. They had hoped to never come back to this awful place.

Twilight looked to her friends. Rainbow Dash was probably the one least scared at returning. AJ was determined but nervous. Fluttershy was shivering in fear at the sight of the trees. Rarity was disgusted by the dirt and mud, muttering something about staying clean. And Pinkie...well, to be honest, she didn't look like she even knew what was going on. She just had her usual smile plastered on her face.

"Is... is everypony ready?" Twilight asked.

"I am." Said Lyra.

"I think were all ready, sugarcube."

Twilight looked to her friends again. They all nodded their heads.

"Ok, let's go."

They entered the forest slowly. The air was thick and humid. It was less like a forest and more like a jungle. Rainbow Dash walked up beside Twilight.

"So when we find this thing, what's it gonna be like?" She asked. Twilight thought about it for a moment.

"Well, I'm not too sure. Lyra could tell you more than I could." At the mention of her name, Lyra jogged up beside them.

"You called me?" She said

"Yes, could you tell the others about what were looking for."

"Oh, the human? Certainly!" She turned her head to make sure that the others were listening." Well, humans are ancient race of primates that came to invade Equestria more than five thousand years ago. But, upon arriving, they put down their weapons and surrendered."

"They...they invaded us?" Asked Fluttershy.

"Yup."

"Why?"

"No one knows."

"And then they surrendered?" Asked Rainbow Dash.

"Yup."

"Why?"

"No one knows."

Dash turned to Twilight. "You lied. She isn't telling us anything."

"Wait, I wasn't done yet!" Lyra shouted." After that, they became the protectors of Equestria and all of pony kind."

"Well, I guess that's a little better. What did they look like?"

"Kind of like a monkey, but with no tail. And they are practically furless, except for a large portion of hair on top of the head. Because they have no coat, and because it's part of their culture, they wear clothes all the time. Oh, and they're omnivorous! They have flat teeth for eating plants and sharp teeth for tearing meat. Isn't that cool?"

The group stopped in its tracks. Some gave nervous glances at each other.

"Wait. We're trying to find a creature that has the ability to eat us. Twilight, most of the time I think your'e smart...now is not one of those times."

"It will be fine, Dash, I promise."

"How can anypony just kill something and then eat it? It's just disgusting.!" Commented Rarity.

The group continued on their path for several hours before they saw the outline of the old castle.

It was just as ominous as they remembered. The old castle. The group entered a minute ago and were now walking through the halls. Fallen pillars and broken objects filled their sight. Before they got any further, Twilight turned to them.

" Ok, everypony, listen up. I want us all to split up and search. Look for any kind of hidden door or chamber. Turn this place inside out if you have to. Tell me if you see anything out of the ordinary."

The group nodded and split up, each taking a different room. Twilight knew that what she was searching for was here. She decoded the riddle and knew exactly what it meant.

"Through Everfree, to moon's redemption."

Through the Everfree Forest and to the old castle. This castle, where Nightmare Moon was defeated and turned back into Luna. This is where the moon was redeemed.

The door to the tomb, fill the depression.

Twilight believed that this had something to do with the necklace. If she was right, the necklace would be the key to opening the tomb. She actually had a theory that Nightmare Moon knew about the slumbering servant and was trying to find the tomb herself when the elements stopped her. She was glad that they did. With the Slumbering Servant at her side, who knows what kind of damage Nightmare Moon could have caused.

It was a few minutes later when she heard Pinkie call her.

"Twilight! Twilight! I found something!"

Twilight ran to where she heard her friends voice. When she got there, she saw Pinkie standing in front of a large brick wall.

"What did you find, Pinkie?"

"This!" Pinkie turned and pointed to the wall. In the middle of the brick wall was a depression that matched the shape of the necklace.

"Is this it, Twilight?"

"Yes, this is it. How did you find it so quickly?"

"Oh, that's easy! I used my Pinkie sense! When my eyes roll up into the back of my head, it means that there's a hidden door nearby!"

"Pinkie sense, what is tha- no never mind! Pinkie, go get the others and bring them here."

Pinkie saluted like a soldier and took off. After she watched her friend leave, Twilight turned back to the wall. Her horn glowed with magic as she brought the necklace next to it. It was time to test her theory. She pushed the necklace into the depression. It was a perfect fit.

Suddenly the whole castle shook and the wall began to break apart. When the shaking stopped, the former wall was now a perfect archway, leading into some dark chamber.

"Twilight! Are you alright? What was that shaking?" Called Rarity, as she and the others came into the room.

"Yes, I'm fine. The cause of the shaking was that." Twilight pointed to the dark area beyond the archway. "It's in there. What we're looking for is in there." The others came beside her. "Well...this is it." She and the others slowly walked through the darkness. It was so dark that they could barley see in front of them.

Twilight was about to use her magic to create some light, when the entire room was filled with lit candles. It surprised them at first. Once their eyes adjusted to the light, they could see that they weren't in a room at all. It was more like a vary large hallway. At the end of the hallway was a pedestal...and on top of the pedestal was a very small statue.

With Twilight leading, the group slowly pushed forward. As they walked, they could see skeletons, human skeletons, all braced against the walls. Each one had a sword in their hand. Rainbow looked at them and said.

"Is that what they look like? Ok, I'm getting really freaked out here."

"Don't worry, those are just bones." Said Lyra "A live one looks much different."

"Oh, good...good."

"Getting a little scared, eh Dash?" Asked AJ.

"No! I'm not scared of anything. They just look weird, that's all!"

They were just a few feet from the pedestal now. They could see the statue resting on top. For a moment, no one did anything, they were too nervous to approach any further. Then Lyra, who could't hold her patience any longer, used her magic and lifted the statue. The very instant the magic touched it, a loud, deep voice reverberated throughout the hall.

"YOU ARE NOT WORTHY!"

The group looked around in shock.

"ONLY SHE WHO IS WORTHY MAY BREAK THE SEAL! ALL OTHERS ARE NOT ALLOWED! YOU ARE TRESPASSERS!"

Suddenly the skeleton warriors against the wall came alive. Their eye sockets glowed red and they turned their heads in the ponies direction. They began a slow walk towards them.

"Damn it Lyra!" Shouted Dash.

"Sorry!"

"Twilight, do something!"

The purple unicorn flared her magic and sent a blast of energy at the monsters. The blast knocked them down, but they quickly got back up and continued their advance. Twilight turned to the statue and screamed at it.

"Come on, we came this far! Doesn't that make us worthy?" She brought he hoof up and smacked it. As her hoof connected, a blinding flash of light shone from the statue. "Oh, what did I do now?" She said, losing hope. The light shone so bright that no one could see. Perhaps this was for the best.If she was going to die, better to not know when it's coming.

But then the light dimmed. She and the others could see again! To their surprise, all the skeletons were destroyed, their bones strewn across the floor. The ponies weren't going to die, they were saved! The group gave sighs of relief.

"Twi, what did you do?" Asked Lyra.

"I...I don't know."

Lyra was going to say something else, but her voice caught in her chest. There was something moving behind Twilight, something big. She brought up her hoof and pointed. Twilight looked confused.

"What?"She asked

Lyra pointed again. Twilight turned around and saw it. The thing she set out to find, the human! It was covered in black armor and was sitting on the pedestal. It smiled at them nervously and looked around.

The Slumbering Servant had been awakened...... And he was very confused.

"Um...where the hell am I?"